Project summary/abstract The purpose of this application is to request funds to purchase the Zeiss LSM 980 with Airyscan 2 microscope. This laser scanning confocal imaging system performs fluorescent multi-color live cell imaging with enhanced resolution, high sensitivity and rapid image acquisition capabilities. This instrument fills a critical unmet need for high resolution of dynamic nanoscale interactions of specific macromolecular assemblies in living cells at Syracuse University (SU) and Upstate Medical University (SUNY-UMU) and will allow federally funded investigators to extend their studies of type 2 diabetes (T2D), neurodegenerative diseases, renal failure, embryonic development, oogenesis and cell fate determination. Biological samples include human and rodent pancreatic beta cells, mouse astrocytes and hippocampal neurons, mouse oocytes, mouse macrophages, fly sperm, C. elegans germline cells, zebrafish spinal cord interneurons and fluorescently labeled single molecules such as misfolded proteins and molecular motors undergoing dynamics transport. The purchase of this important imaging system will directly support the research of 6 NIH-funded ?major users? plus other investigators who have federally funded research grants. This fully integrated ?turnkey? system is ideal for a core facility with a large dedicated user base. As configured, the system will be able to perform enhanced resolution live cell imaging with minimal photo-damage. The Airyscan technology achieves improvements in spatial resolution and the signal-to-noise (SNR) by exploiting a combination of the equivalent of confocal imaging with a 0.2-Airy Unit pinhole setting and pixel reassignment. The Airyscan technique is superior to conventional confocal for live cell imaging. The Zeiss LSM 980 with Airyscan 2 will be housed in the Biology Department Imaging Center, a campus-wide imaging core located in the Life Science Complex, College of Arts and Sciences. The facility serves the needs of the biomedical scientists in the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Engineering and biomedical scientists at Upstate Medical University. Investigators at institutions in the surrounding Central New York region also have access to the center.